On Friday afternoon Clay drove his Buick to the bar and restaurant on the highway halfway between the university and the cove. He was an hour early. He was anxious to see Bill. He hadn't seen him since the spring.

Bill came in precisely on time. Clay knew to look toward the door at the time they'd specified. If Bill was true to form, he'd arrive within a minute or two of the appointed time.

Clay stood when he saw his friend and the men hugged fondly once Bill got to the table Clay had picked.

"It's wonderful to see you, Bill. You're all tan and fit looking. All that fresh sea air must agree with you. How did this summer's research go?"

"I'm seeing what I think are signs of trouble in the Pacific. It's like in the Gulf. That's not true. It is similar. I'm seeing similar signs of deterioration like ones you've documented in the Gulf. I'm going back to the same spot next year. I want to take the same specimens next year that I took this year. Compare them."

"You expect to see more deterioration," Clay said.

"Exactly. The Pacific Ocean is huge. I want to explore it all but I need to go back to spots I've already been to. That's the only way I'm going to know if I'm seeing consistent change," Bill said. "For all I know, it could get better. If that happens, I'll feel better but I don't think that's what is happening. With the new technology coming on line, I'm thinking I'll be able to measure a change."

"I've measured no change for the better, although the spots where Popov fishes did have higher water temperatures at one time. Those came down," Clay said. "I have no cause for the rise or explanation for why the temperature dropped either."

"There was a sudden event that caused the water temperatures to rise. The event ended and temperatures came back down. It may not be pollution related, Clay. Unless you are there at the time an event is taking place, it's almost impossible to know the cause."

"Yes, I see that. I've found no evidence that points to a cause."

"The best we can do is document such events. Unless we're there while it is taking place, we're out of luck as far as cause."

"I keep looking. I know the answers are right there, Bill. I just need to figure it out."

"I identified the camera Ivan bought Dylan," Bill said. "There were only a couple of models like the one you described and only one of those were produced in any numbers. I brought film that should fit it and if you'll show me the camera before we part, I'll be certain."

"You don't know how happy you've made my son," Clay said.

"I am fascinated by old cameras. He has found one of the few quality 16mm cameras that size. The books say it was developed to be carried by soldiers who were actually fighting the war. It was built to take a beating."

"It's not in bad shape. Someone really took care of that camera. You'll see. I'll show it to you when we're done here," Clay said.

"Tell Ivan that I'm meeting with Harry at his house the next time he's home from DC. Leave the film he needs to get developed at Harry's and I'll leave more film for Dylan's camera. I'll develop the film and once I watch it, I'll leave it at Harry's. I will only watch it if Dylan agrees to it. I've seen his stills. I want to see his movies."

"If Dylan knows that's the price for more film, he won't mind. We haven't gotten the film back from what he was doing last week. I'll let you know when we have it. If we can't get together, we can use the same method to let you see the original film he took," Clay said. "He sits with the movie camera in his lap looking forlorn. He says he's making a movie about his life."

"Most kids his age don't realize they have a life," Bill said. "I've seen his stills. They show a talent for capturing the subject matter. I just want to see what he's doing with the movie camera," Bill said.

"I'll give Ivan the message. He appreciates you finding the film. He was afraid he wouldn't be able to find more film for it. They didn't offer him any help at all in Fort Myers."

"We have a film lab at school. Surprisingly enough, there are several of those cameras still in use. The film is available but it takes something like a university to get a hold of it. I told Ivan we'd do the developing. I can do it far cheaper than he can get someone else to develop it. I can take a look at what Dylan's doing once I get the film developed."

"He photographs everything at the moment. It surprised me at how quickly he took to it. Ivan bought him an 8mm movie camera over a year ago. It's on a shelf in Dylan's room. I don't think he's used it since he used up the original film that came with it."

"8mm is good for taking movies of your family. It's not a good format if you like photography. Its quality is poor, Clay. Leaves a lot to be desired. The 16mm cameras are surprisingly professional. I have two on the Horizon. I attempt to document my research using them. The university has given me permission to look for a documentary filmmaker for next summer's trip."

"The university certainly gives you a lot of room to do what you think you need to do, Bill."

"The university is working with John Sinclair's dime. He left money to support my research for years to come. If I think I need someone to film for me, they have no objections. I'm just not any good at it and I've decided we need good film footage of the research. It needs to be a good enough quality for an audience to watch."

"Sounds sweet," Clay said. "I'll let you and Ivan work out how you want to work film procurement and developing. He knows what Dylan is doing and what he needs. As for you watching the pictures he's taking, I have no objections. Dylan will probably be tickled someone of your stature is interested."

"I'm not sure what my stature is but I admire anyone who can take pictures. I can't. I can but they aren't any good," Bill said.

"Won't hurt to take a look. Dylan is a talented young man. Takes after his father that way."

"My talent seems a lot like hard work these days, Bill. I love it. I wouldn't do anything else, but Harry keeps me busy," Clay said, knowing what Bill wanted from him.

"Speaking of which, how would you like to go with me on next summer's research trip?" Bill asked.

"I'd love nothing more. We've gone down this road before. Harry says no. I can't be away for that long. While he's in DC, I need to keep the wheels turning at the Conservancy."

"Listen to what I'm telling you. You can meet me in San Francisco in June. Well sail from there to the reef I'm diving on in the Pacific. You'll see what I'm researching and we'll dive together every day for the next five weeks. Six weeks after departure, we'll go to Guam and put you on a plane home. Six weeks on the Horizon and you'll get to see everything I want you to see, Clay."

"Harry is my boss and Harry says no, Bill. I'm tempted but I'm afraid it is no sale as far as Harry is concerned."

"The plan I described to you is the plan Harry agreed to earlier this week. We met for lunch at the Gulf Club. I explained why I needed you on next summer's research trip. No, he wouldn't agree to the entire trip but by putting you on a plane back home while we are in Guam, we can accomplish everything we need to do," Bill said.

It took a minute for it to sink in. Clay wasn't sure he'd heard Bill correctly. He'd asked Harry and he refused to budge on it.

"You aren't joshing me? Harry said, 'yes'."

"Look at this face, Clayton Olson. Do I look like I'm joking?"

"I don't know what to say," Clay said. "I've wanted to go with you since the first time you asked me. The Pacific Ocean!"

"I explained why I needed you and he wouldn't budge on the entire summer, but he agreed on an abbreviated version. I almost blurted it out on the phone the other day but I wanted to be looking at your face when I told you the news."

"Yes, works for me. Do you want to go along next summer?"

"Yes! Yes! Yes! I want to go next summer," Clay said with excitement in his voice.

"How did you get Harry to go along with this, Bill? When I just mentioned it, he wouldn't hear of it. I've got more than enough work right here in the Gulf of Mexico," Clay said.

"Harry understands the importance of you seeing other large bodies of water. What is happening in the Pacific will be coming to the Gulf in years to come. You need to see the Pacific for yourself. You can compare what you see in the Pacific with what you are seeing in the Gulf. Harry understands that," Bill said. "He's a smart man. He listens to me. It came down to the length of time. He agreed to six weeks."

"I'll begin making plans. We'll talk about it between now and June. It seems like a long way away but I'll be looking forward to it. You don't want to tell me what it is you want me to see?" Clay asked." "There are things I'm seeing that I want you to see. I'll have this year's research for you to look at and once you've seen the conditions for yourself we can discuss the implications and what that might mean in the larger scheme of things. If there was a time I need your opinion, Clay, it's on next summer's voyage. I'm hoping that once you see it, you'll tell me I'm all wet and what I think is happening isn't what's really happening but I'm afraid that isn't the case. Listen to me rambling on. You need to see what I'm seeing. That's the bottom line. I need your opinion."

"And you're going to leave me hanging on that for the next nine months. You should write mystery novels, Bill. I can't wait."

Bill Payne laughed. He wasn't going to tell Clay what he was seeing in the Pacific Ocean. He wanted Clay to see it for himself and tell him it's not how he saw it. It's why he wanted Clay to go and not some other marine biologist. Clay wasn't afraid to disagree with him.

One thing was for sure, whether or not Bill was correct in his assessment, it wouldn't be easy to undo what was being done in most major bodies of water. Identifying a problem was the easy part. Finding a fix and getting the help to implement it was hard.

Once they settled into eating lunch, Clay began describing what he was finding in the Gulf. Up until a couple of years before, Bill and Clay met several times over a summer because Bill had no classes to teach. This was the first sit down discussion they'd had since Bill took over the research ship Horizon.

Clay told Bill about what he was finding in the Gulf of Mexico and on the reefs Bill was familiar with. Changes were taking place and none were for the better and pollution had a lot to do with it. The solution was out of reach because the politicians weren't listening. Even with Senator Harry McCallister avocation for the Gulf and the nations other water ways full time, it wasn't creating enough change to make a difference in the Sunshine State.

Bill listened carefully to what Clay told him. Bill started his career diving in the Gulf of Mexico. He'd shown Clay the reefs he was now telling Bill about. He knew the waters like he knew the university. It was sad to hear things were changing and not for the better.

All in all it had been a time to touch base. It had been a time to make a plan for the future. Both men felt rewarded by the meeting and that was before you considered that Bill had solved the problem of getting film for the 16mm motion picture camera and developing it.

Clay drove to the Dive Shop once he returned to the cove. He took the film in to Ivan and set it down on his desk.

"He figured out what camera you bought. He brought the film for it," Clay said, putting the camera beside the film.

"Ten canisters. That ought to last a day or maybe two," Ivan said. "I've got to ration it before he sees how many there are."

He stood and Clay hugged him and kissed his cheek. Ivan kissed Clay on his lips. They held each other for a minute and separated before someone came in for something. It still wasn't safe to be discovered as being gay and both men knew there were limits except when they were home, and Dylan wasn't lurking about.

Dylan knew his fathers were lovers and the popular word for it was gay. He heard things he didn't like concerning men like his dads, but no matter what he came home with, his fathers told them that this was the way it was and no one was going to come and take them away, no matter what he heard other kids saying.

It hadn't been a crime to be gay for a decade but that seemed like a small affair when they considered that gay men were dying and no one knew the reason why.

Dylan knew that was true but the vileness of the things kids said was only a little better than the ugliness adults spewed in their words of condemnation for men who were in love with each other.

Clay and Ivan were certain they weren't the only gay men raising their child in a hostile world. With an epidemic raging it complicated everything in their lives and they still needed to get everything done each day while resisting the urge to scream.

Ivan took seven canisters of film and put them in a cabinet Dylan had no reason to go into. He left three canisters out for Dylan to use. In that way he might use them more sparingly. When he'd used up the three canisters, Ivan would give him two more. In that way they might not need Bill to get more film for another week.

The only time Dylan wasn't close to the 16mm camera was while he was at school. Clay had put his foot down on that.

"You can absolutely not take that camera to school," Clay said.

"But, Dad, I'm making a film about my life. I've got to take the camera to school to do that," Dylan explained.

"No, you don't. I'll take you to school and you can film the outside and then I'll take the camera home. I'm sure as soon as people see the school, they'll get the idea," Clay said.

"Oh, Dad," Dylan complained, knowing it would do no good.

While Dylan was in school, Clay took the camera for Bill to see and it was right where Dylan left it when he got home with more film.

As soon as Dylan came in the door of the Dive Shop, his eyes settled on the camera and the canisters of film next to it.

"Kewl," Dylan said. "Where'd you get more film?"

"It's not easy to get, Dylan. You can't use it all up in a couple of days and think I'll have more. You've already filmed everything in the cove. Try to limit yourself a little. You don't want to be sitting around waiting to get film so you can use it, do you?"

Dylan loaded the camera and walked out the front door to film the fishing fleet that had come in and anchored that afternoon.

"We're lucky to have a son who listens, aren't we?" Clay said.

"Yeah," Ivan said. "But I don't know who he listens to."

"He's a kid," Clay said. "Comes with the territory."

"Who's a kid," Dylan asked, looking at his dads through the viewfinder.

Dylan hesitated in the huge window overlooking the cove.

"Oh, kewl," he said, putting the camera back up to his eye to film the fishing fleet through the Dive Shop window. The Dive, Surf, & Bait Shop appeared upside down in the viewfinder. It made him giggle.

"Use the film wisely. No telling when we'll have more."

"Kewl. I've got most of the footage I need around the cove. I want to take it with me when Dad and I go diving tomorrow. I'll never get enough footage of the Gulf.

"Plan your shots ahead of time," Ivan said, still working on the message not to use so much film.

"OK. Can do," Dylan said, filming directly out the window.

"I'm thirsty. Can I go get a soda?" Dylan asked.

"Sure. Get me a root beer and your father a Coke," Ivan said, handing Dylan a five-dollar bill.

It was at the end of October that things began to come together for next summer's voyage into the Pacific. Bill called Clay at the Conservancy to talk one day before Clay left for home.

"Clay Olson," Clay said, picking up his phone.

"Clay, Bill, I've got wonderful news," Bill said. "Logan Warren, a well known documentary filmmaker has agreed to go along on next summer's research trip. He'll shoot a documentary of our research."

"I've never heard you so excited about anything Bill. This guy must be quite the catch by the way you sound," Clay said.

"I've seen his work. He's an incredible filmmaker and an environmentalist. He knew who I was and he said he wanted to come along to film next summer's research. It took him two weeks to clear his schedule and be sure he could be free at that time and he just called to tell me he was coming along."

"I'm glad you were able to get him. I'm still looking forward to it. That adds something else to wonder about."

"Anyway, I wanted you to know since you'll be going along. He's your age so you'll probably get along fine."

There was small talk and Bill would be at Harry's over the weekend, when Harry came home for a few days. Ivan had already dropped the film by Harry's house and both Harry and Bill would look at some of what Dylan was photographing with the 16mm camera."

Both Ivan and Clay were invited to Harry's to see the film for the first time. Dylan hadn't been able to see his film but he wasn't notified that this was the week it was going to be viewed.

There was a random quality to the film. The first film started with Ivan shooting the house where he'd bought the camera. Then there was the back of Ivan's house and a shot of the front of the house and of Clay's Buick before they were looking at the Pizza Emporium. There were pictures of the Conservancy house. The Cove Dive, Surf, & Bait Shop, film from outside the shop and from inside the shop. Then he filmed out of the huge window that overlooked the cove.

"It's making me dizzy," Harry said, shutting off his projector. "No continuity. Clear pictures though. It's a good camera. Maybe a drink will help. Drinks anyone?"

Harry got up and fixed a bourbon and branch water for himself and a scotch for Bill. He brought back a Coke for Clay and a root beer for Ivan that he kept in the fridge under the bar.

Harry sat down and turned the projector on before sitting back.

There were shots of JK's Kitchen, the fish warehouse, and the Sea Lab in her slip. Then they were on the Sea Lab as she left the cove and there was footage of the deck, the bridge, and a shot of the salon taken from the deck. As the water became rough, there was a shot of the cove bouncing up and down as Clay entered right in front of a thunderstorm, which was close behind. They watched the boiling clouds and the lightening taken from Sea Lab's slip and then more shots of the Dive, Surf, & Bait Shop."

"That's all I can take," Harry said. "I'm sea sick. I need another drink. Anyone else?"

No one said anything as Harry went back to the bar.

"Needs an editor," Bill said. "Too many pictures of his feet and the air. I suppose he hasn't seen it. He doesn't know what he needs to avoid doing and what he needs practice doing. You need a 16mm projector so he can watch his film. You can get one used but nothing is cheap. Show the movies and charge admission. People will pay to see their cove in motion," Bill said.

"One thing for sure, there's plenty of motion. I feel like I've been rode hard and put away wet," Harry said. "He needs to learn to stop filming when he's transitioning to a new shot. I'm not even sure what I saw."

"Some decent footage in between shots of his sneakers," Bill said. "He'll need a way to cut out the bad footage if he intends to make a film of his life."

"He took some of the same footage with the 8mm. Pop has a projector at the house. I hadn't thought of that. Bill is right. This film footage is way more clear and easier to watch. The 8mm can't compare with this footage."

"Easy to watch for whom?" Harry asked, sipping his drink.

"Our kid has talent," Ivan said. "I can see a movie in it. Cut out all the crap and splice it together. Where do I get an editor, Bill?"

"I know this is going to sound like the biggest con you've ever heard, but do I have a deal for you?"

Ivan laughed.

"I can't wait," Ivan said.

"He needs more than an editor, Gentlemen," Harry said. "If you're going to show that to anyone, hand out seasick pills first."

"Don't pay any attention to the senator. He didn't think man would ever make it to the moon," Bill said.

"How can you be so certain the moon landing wasn't staged on a Hollywood set," Harry said.

"See," Bill said.

"I know man went to the moon. I saw some moon rocks," Ivan said.

Harry laughed.

"I saw those. I picked up some out in Death Valley when I was on vacation with my father back in 1950."

"Did Clay tell you about the documentary filmmaker who has agreed to film next summer's research trip, Ivan?" Bill asked.

"Yeah, he said something about it. What's that got to do with where I can find an editor that I can also afford," Ivan said.

"I'm about to tell you. The university has agreed to furnish Logan Warren, the documentary filmmaker who is going to film next summer's research voyage, with whatever equipment he needs. The equipment I currently have includes an editor. It originally cost over a thousand bucks, as I recall. It's a first class editor but it's four years old. As we replace what I have with what Logan Warren uses, the university is going to sell the older equipment."

"I can't afford a thousand bucks," Ivan said. "That's a bit pricy for a kid to play with," Ivan said.

"Look at it this way, how many people are going to be in the market for a used professional editor for 16mm film? It isn't like everyone is using a 16mm camera. It's a professional format."

"You left my budget a long time ago, Bill. I picked that 16mm camera up at a garage sale. I bought it with the money I had in my pocket at the time. When I saw that camera, I lost my head. I said, why not see if Dylan can work with this, and he can. For three hundred bucks, my kid is in hog heaven. That's a bargain."

"You paid three hundred bucks for a forty-year-old camera you didn't know worked," Clay asked.

"I paid three hundred bucks to fuel our kids dream. If I can help make his dreams come true, I'll pay what I have for that outcome," Ivan informed Clay.

"You're the camera man. I'm not complaining," Clay said.

"What I can do is notify you when they decide to sell the old equipment to mitigate the expense of buying new. You'll have an even shot at buying what you might want for Dylan. Between now and then, find someone willing to invest in Dylan's future."

"It's been four years since I bought his first camera. I always liked taking photographs. I thought Dylan might take to it," Ivan said.

"In four years he's shown an aptitude for photography. You've moved him into a more or less professional 16mm camera. If your serious, if he's serious, you can up his game by giving him the equipment he needs to create the film he wants to create," Bill said.

"What he does best is film his father working in the Gulf. If I wanted to really up his game, I'd buy one of those underwater jobs from you but there's no way I can afford that," Ivan said.

"No, you can't," Clay said. "I'm letting him take underwater stills, because he does enjoy it. An underwater motion picture camera is way beyond taking stills. I don't know if he's ready for that."

"He seems intent on filming Clay while he goes about his business. Today he's taking stills. Tomorrow, who knows what the next step should be. I'm for anyone interested in documenting the work we are doing. Since it's already what he is doing, give him the tools to take him as far as he wants to go."

"He films everything I do. I bought Harry's old underwater Nikon so Dylan could take stills when I'm diving. He takes better pictures than I do," Clay said. "You've seen them, Bill."

"I knew you weren't as against me buying him cameras as you say. I forgot you bought those. You bought them for Dylan to use," Ivan said, finally finding the evidence he'd been searching for.

"I was not turning over Harry's cameras to Dylan. I bought them because I could afford them and that's what I did. Cameras are a distraction when you are underwater. Dylan is a kid and kids are easily distracted and he can't afford to be. That's my opinion."

"I've seen his stills, Clay. I've told you he has a gift for seeing things he wants to put on film. The composition in those pictures is good," Harry said. "That film we just watched needs a lot of help. He loses control of what he's shooting and he forgets when the camera is on, or he thinks he can get away with what he's doing, and, well, it makes me dizzy watching it."

"There were some moments," Bill said. "He sees his shots and eventually squares them up. If you remove the extraneous motion, you see what he's after, He simply isn't aware of when to stop shooting. He needs to see what we've just watched. That would teach him more than anything anyone tells him. He'll see his mistakes."

"I certainly saw it," Harry said. "Tell you what. We'll meet a couple of times while I'm home Clay. Bring Dylan with you to the house, I'll tell you the day. I'll have someone run his film for him to see. I don't want to see it again but let him see what he's doing. He's fast on his feet. It might help. You don't know if you don't try."

"Thanks, Harry," Clay said. "I think that would help a lot. He has no idea what the film he shot looks like. Actually, I see where he's going. He is making a movie of his life at the cove."

"Ivan, keep your eyes open for a decent 16mm projector. If you can find something reasonable, and I'm talking second hand, I'll help with the cost. If your son is going to film my marine biologist at work, I want it to be a movie I can watch without becoming sea sick."

Bill laughed.

Clay ran Harry's comment through his radar. He'd always been in Harry's life, at least since he was seventeen. Harry had never been that involved in Clay's life, or Dylan's, and this offer worried him.

Ivan heard Harry's offer. He didn't know if it was relevant to what may or may not happen, but Harry was a good guy and sincere most of the time. Dylan had used the 16mm for a little over a week. He'd used the 8mm camera for a little longer than that before putting it away for good. They'd watched the 8mm film at the Olson's. Dylan saw what that looked like and he apparently didn't like it.

"I'll be home until September," Harry said. "We'll have plenty of time to talk."

"I have a thought," Bill said. "You can pick up a cheap editor. It's a simple affair that allows you to feed the film by hand past a viewer the size of a pack of cigarettes. It goes from a reel on one side over the viewer to a reel on the other side. You watch the film as you feed it past the viewer. He'd need to learn the process of how you cut and splice the film. It's not difficult but it takes time and practice."

"I don't think doing it by hand would limit him," Ivan said. "He can be patient when he's trying to do something. If he thinks he can make his movie better by editing it, he'll want to learn how no matter how much time it takes. He's like Clay in that respect."

"The film lab at the university did some hand editing of the film I took them of my first year out on the Horizon. Since then they've automated the editing. I'll see if they still have the old editor. I have a book on film editing and one on taking motion pictures from when I was trying to learn to make my own film," Bill said.

"He's had the camera for two weeks. He spent one week waiting for film. We're a long way from him learning the etiquette of making movies. Dylan will decide where he is going from here," Ivan said. "He's a long way from becoming the next Francis Ford Coppola."

"A voice of reason. Who is this masked man?" Clay asked.

Harry laughed from deep in his belly.

"More scotch, Bill. All this talk of buying and selling makes me thirsty," Harry said, heading for the bar.

"I'm driving," Bill said. "I'm already over my limit."


Send Rick an email at quillswritersrealm@yahoo.com

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